Disclaimer: Oh, never mine, you suspected innocent ol' me for claiming work that is not my own? Ohoho, you suspected wrongly!
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Flying on Ice
By: anaime
Chapter one - The Meeting
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The next morning came bright and hopeful, with sunbeams raining down through Ichigo's window.
He mentally gagged when he woke up.
Him, pair -couple- skating? He had always done better at singles. But no, Urahara had the very decency to tell him yesterday that he was doing couple skating and was meeting his partner today. Why did he have to have him as a crazy old trainer who had done nothing to help improve his skating abilities?
Ichigo dressed swiftly, now with his 18th birthday behind him, he had gotten his own small flat to live in. Sometimes his old buffoon of a father comes early at 5 a.m. to kick Ichigo's face, but it was a nice replacement from seeing his father's ass coming at him every day. Pulling his hood over his head and doing all his morning rituals, Ichigo was finally out the door with his running shoes on. In less than a minute, he was jogging with his skating gears through the street to the ice rink, 13 blocks away. It was six o'clock, and he would get there and practice before meeting his partner.
Ichigo could always refuse to skate with the partner… but he couldn't stand a girl's tears, if this girl cried, he would probably kick himself.
It was still very sunny outside when he went inside the skating rink.
*****
Crap. Rukia was running so late. She was never the morning person, though skate practices were always in the mornings.
She glanced back down at her watch on her nightstand, not chappy styled, sadly, but still bunny encrusted. It was 6:45, and Rukia wasn't even dressed.
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Unlike their first meeting in the airport, Rukia was looking up, unlike their first meeting in the airport, Rukia wished she hadn't.
Just like in her fateful dream, Ichigo's hair shining brilliantly sunny, the contrast was next to none and Rukia was momentarily shocked.
"Y-You!"
Kurosaki Ichigo's –no, his, Rukia refused to acknowledge she had any otherworldly dream about him- state of being was so comical that if the situation wasn't so severe, Rukia would have burst out laughing. His legs were bent, his mouth was open, merely hanging there, and his hand was shaking while his index finger was directed at Rukia's nose.
"It's rude to point, you know," for the second time in a week, Rukia thanked the heavens for her upbringing as a Kuchiki, her voice was composed with the slightest edge of malice in it.
He immediately dropped his hand, but now his scowl was more pronounced than ever. His demeanour changed suddenly, now he wasn't shocked, he was, what was the word… Rukia ploughed through her mind, yes, fierce.
"Apologize."
Rukia backtracked, wait, what? "Pardon?"
"Apologize for what you did at the airport!"
Now Rukia was really backtracking… "What?!" She shrieked, all her composure lost, Nii-sama would have been so abashed. "You were the one that knocked me down!"
"Excuse me, but who was the one that was not looking at where she was going and engrossed in her music?!" Oh, and now he was angry, his scowl became even more pronounced. Like he wasn't ugly enough, Rukia though inwardly.
"Please, like I can knock you over! You're like, a head and a half taller than me! If anyone should apologize, it's you!"
"I wasn't the one who wasn't looking up!"
"Well, according to you, if you were looking, how come we still collided?"
"Well, you're so short that no one can notice you! Besides, it would have made common sense if someone as short as you, being as close to the floor as you are, need not to look down, but up!"
At this point, Rukia was seeing red, no one had ever insulted her height before, she had a prefectly normal vertical vestige, thank you very much!
"You're the most insane, impossible person I ever met, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Ichigo's reply was cut off in half as his eyes widened, and Rukia immediately clapped her hands to her mouth.
Oh dear higher deity, did I just call him by his name?
How the hell does she know my name?
What do I do? What do I do? What do I DO?
Now, if Rukia was in her right mind, she would instantly make up an excuse that Yoruichi told her his name, but since she was already frizzled, she did the only thing that her insensible brain told her to do.
Rukia clenched her hand in a fist, and mustering all her strength, punched Ichigo right on his solar plexus.
On a balcony looking down below, Urahara and Yoruichi were silently laughing their insane heads off, and agreeing to themselves that their two pupils were a match made in hell.
*****
Half an hour later, Ichigo and Rukia were sitting across from a table in a homey little café that Urahara calls home. Ichigo was glaring, and Rukia was doing a fair share of glaring back.
"So, midget," Ichigo grunted between clenched teeth, "how did you know my name?"
Now that Rukia had time to think rationally, she hissed through equally clenched teeth, "Why, Yoruichi told me, of course, why else, you dumb strawberry?"
At the other end of the café, Yoruichi sneezed into the steamed milk Urahara had just handed to her.
"Oh, and I deserved a beating for that reason?"
Rukia laughed airily, "Why, of course not, dearest Ichigo, that punch could equal to a beating on your behalf? My, oh my, it looks like my deduction is correct, you really are a big baby!"
Rukia swore she heard a cracking sound issuing from Ichigo's mouth. Rukia sipped a gulp of iced mocha, ah sweet caffeinated victory. While Rukia was enjoying her 1 to 0 advantage, Yoruichi came out of the backroom with a tissue, and Urahara was slinking behind in her shadows, smirking.
"Having a nice time, Princess?"
Rukia gave a curt nod, and reality cut through her bubble of happy smugness, and Rukia mentally scowled. Skate partners, are they? They should be better off biting each other.
"Well, Kisuke and I, as excellent trainers as we are," Yoruichi stopped slightly after seeing the murderous looks on Rukia and Ichigo's faces, "so we've decided to give you a little skate history on each other."
She gave a swift nod to Ichigo, and to Rukia's surprise, Ichigo nodded back.
"You guys know each other?" Curiosity was what killed the cat, after all.
Yoruichi laughed slyly, but didn't reply.
"Well, Ichigo, this is your new skate partner, Kuchiki Rukia, she's currently 16. She's skated since she was three. She's been to the Junior Japanese Figure Skating Championships for singles and pair. She won a gold medal for singles, and gold at pairs. In the Junior World Championships, she entered for pairs, and she got bronze. Rukia's won at many competitions starting when she was 9. And, well, her love is Chappy the Bunny," Rukia smiled happily, and Ichigo stared at her, spooked.
"And Rukia,this is Kurosaki Ichigo. He's just turned 18, and is working part-time in his father's clinic and planning on taking courses in medics. Ichigo here has been at the Nationals when he was 15, and he could have gotten gold, but due to some circumstances… he wasn't able to," Rukia's interest was now spiked at the flash of remorse in Ichigo's eyes, "And he started skating at a young age, but stopped after 15. He's taken skating again last year, and he's excellent."
A momentary pause followed.
"Now I'm going to ask you guys two very important questions. Do you want to compete in the world championships coming up?"
Two heads nod.
"And do you want to win?"
For some reason, Violet eyes meet amber and both see mirroring determination in the other's face. At this point, they were letting the other know that they intend to win. Some magnetic force keeps their eyes locked until they both nod at the same time.
"Good. There's a Practise every morning in the ice rink at 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays until summer ends, then, practice would be reduced to 8 a.m. because I understand you two have school. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, starting at 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. you are also to meet in the ice rink. When school starts, we start at 4 p.m. Weekends are free except when a tournament comes up. Either Kisuke, me, or both of us will meet you there. Got it?"
Slightly overwhelmed and frightened 'yes' follows. Ichigo stopped himself before he could say ma'am.
"Awesome." Yoruichi flashes her trademark grin, and starts talking again, "now, since this is a Friday, I will see you two at 2 p.m. today, today's morning practice will be cancelled. Have a nice morning!"
With that, Yoruichi departed the table, and they were dismissed. Rukia stood up, intending on finishing her drink outside. She looks at Ichigo and Ichigo looks at her just as his eyes turn gold in the rising sunlight that just cut through the clouds above in the cerulean sky. For some reason, his look was calculating.
"I expect you to not ruin my chance of winning, Kuchiki Rukia."
A surprised grin surfaced on Rukia's face, "nor I, Kurosaki Ichigo. Nor I."
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Another installment, enjoy and review, if you please. Man, lots of you are lurkers in this place.... favouriting/alerting (it is a word in my vocabulary!) my story without even reviewing... tsk, tsk. You should be ashamed of yourselves. (Jk, though it might be nice if you reviewed... puppy dog eyes... told you I could beg!)
I'm planning on keeping each chapter short, but spurting them at a fast pace... Would you people rather have longer chapters with long updates? (Of May 23, 2009: I have combined the old chapter one and two together, so it's just one chapter now...)